About Philosophy

Ergo | Summer 2013

Welcoming New Faculty

While our department’s search for a new faculty member in ethics (moral psychology, meta-ethics, and/or moral epistemology) will continue into next fall, we are extraordinarily pleased to have been able to make a tenure-track hire in the areas of action theory, epistemology and the philosophy of mind. Avery Archer will join the department in the fall as an assistant professor. Archer, who hails from the Caribbean, will earn his PhD from Columbia University in the summer of 2013. He has a master’s in philosophy from St. Andrews (UK) and a master’s in theology from Harvard. His dissertation work at Columbia focuses on the nature of desire and its relationship to action and reasons for action. Archer’s work intersects nicely with our departmental research clusters in both action theory and ethics, both of which will benefit from his addition. Archer’s appointment will also significantly enhance the department’s curricular offerings in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and other areas.

Our department is also pleased to have Nena Davis joining us as a visiting assistant professor for AY2013–14. Davis earned her PhD in 2012 at UNC-Chapel Hill, writing her dissertation on theories of personal identity and their bearing on issues in ethics. Davis works mainly in ethics and applied ethics. During her upcoming year with the department, she will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in these areas, including the undergraduate bioethics course. Davis also will participate in the faculty research seminar and other departmental activities. We are excited about her participation in department life!